Pacific Partnership 2026 holds ribbon-cutting ceremony for Escola Básica Filial Kasnafar engineering project in Dili, Timor-Leste

Canadian Armed Forces Col. Alain Lafrenière, center, deputy mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2026 (PP26), poses for a group photo with U.S. Navy Seabees, members of the Timor-Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL), and Escola Básica Filial (EBF) Kasnafar administrators after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a PP26 engineering line of effort construction project at EBF Kasnafar in Dili, Timor-Leste, Aug. 24, 2026. During the project, U.S. Navy Seabees assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 1, alongside engineers from the Timor-Leste Defence Force, renovated an exterior school building and added a new water tank, increasing the school’s capacity to accommodate students and improving its facilities. Now in its 22nd iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the region. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class T’ara Tripp)